StarCraft 2 Series 2 Action Figures Review

I’ve kept you guys waiting long enough for my review of the second series of StarCraft 2 action figures, and as promised I’ve got the whole shebang on these two new additions to the StarCraft 2 collection: Tychus Findlay and Sarah Kerrigan.  So, what’s the good and the bad points of these figures? What sets them apart from the first series, and most importantly — has DC Unlimited held up their quality this time around for StarCraft collectors like myself?  Read on my friends, to get the answers to all these questions and more.

Before we dive into both models, I’d like to point out a couple of things.  First, while these may seem like robust action figures, don’t be so quick to handle them without caution.  Especially Kerrigan. This may not be the case for every one that ships, but both of mine had their weaknesses that I feel they’re worth mentioning. Second, I received a large number of questions regarding the assembly of certain parts on my review of the Series 1 StarCraft 2 Action Figures.  I did my best to answer them all, but this time around I’m going to include more thorough details on assembly. Sound good? Good! Let’s do this.

Terran Marine: Tychus Findlay Action Figure

Tychus Findlay, the rugged convict we all know from the StarCraft 2 campaign. Bringing this character to life is no easy task, but DC Unlimited did a damn fine job.  Right off the bat, he’s a heavy handful.  And I say that with no exaggeration.  Even compared to Kerrigan and Series 1 figures — the Tychus figure is the heaviest.

Standing nearly nine inches in height, the Tychus action figure is riddled with detail everywhere from head to toe.  His helmet can be pulled down to cover his face, and on the front of his armor is written “Suck it Down” with a skull and crossbones. There are scratches to show the imperfections that come with war on his shoulder pads and legs. The number 435 is labeled on his shoulder pads, and there’s plenty of detail put into the hoses, wiring, and jet boosters on his back.

In terms of flexibility, Tychus can be adjusted to a few different stances but he’s no Olympic Gymnast.  You can rotate his arms from front to back, flex mid-arm, and his hands can be rotated. As for his hands: The right hand is able to be adjusted only to fit the included rifle appropriately, however, the left hand is stiff, and is not meant to be tampered with.  The legs on Tychus are fairly similar. Flexible at the knees, and even the tongue of his steel boots can be lifted or lowered slightly.  The great thing about this action figure being as heavy as it is, you hardly have to worry about him falling over!

Alright so let’s talk assembly.  Tychus comes with a lightweight rifle that is meant to fit in his right hand.  To do this, simply push out his pointer finger to leave room to set the handle of the rifle in.  You want the pointer finger to go into the trigger opening (naturally), and his thumb and remaining fingers to wrap around the pistol grip.  It may seem a bit confusing at first but it’s actually quite simple.  One you’ve got the gun in his hand you’re all set.  If it still seems like it’s going to fall out of his hand, that’s normal.  The grip is not strong with this one.

There’s no additional pieces that come with the Tychus action figure, not even a custom mounting plate for him to stand on like all the other StarCraft 2 action figures.  But as I stated before, he’s plenty heavy enough to not need any additional support to stand.

Pros:  

The detail in the armor is outstanding.  I couldn’t be much more happier with that.  The weight of this action figure makes me feel like I purchased a good, quality figure.  The ability to pull down his helmet shield is a plus for me, since I’m not a fan of the detail in his face (see cons).  He’s plenty adjustable for standing on my display, and I never have to worry about him miraculously falling over.

Cons:

I’ll begin with the face. I’m no action figure manufacturer, but I felt like with the amount of detail that went into the rest of Tychus, the face could and should have been a lot more similar to the game.  Yes, he does have a scar, but he still looks like a plain-jane G.I. Joe.  Maybe I’m nitpicking here, but I’m just calling it as I see it.

The left shoulder pad falls off continuously while handling him.  There’s two square holes on the inside of the shoulder pad that are meant to snap in the protruding pegs on his shoulder, yet it still finds its way to the floor every time I move him around.  It’s a bit irritating, so if you run into this issue I’d suggest setting him where you want him, then snapping on the shoulder pad to avoid any additional frustration.

The included rifle felt a bit cheap.  It’s detailed quite nicely, however, compared to the rest of Tychus this thing is like paperweight.  I also wish the rifle sat more securely in his grip, and not so loosely. Even though he’s a heavy bastard, I would of liked to see a cool plate included.  Maybe a Stalker’s remnants, or even a simple piece of lava-coated landscape.

Queen of Blades: Sarah Kerrigan Action Figure

She’s the bad bitch of the StarCraft 2 universe, and we’re getting up close and personal with her in the upcoming Heart of the Swarm expansion.  The Kerrigan action figure stands around eleven inches tall with her blades intact.  She’s an aggressive looking action figure, and rightly so.  With her blades, she appears as evil as portrayed in the game, but touch her the wrong way and you may regret it.

Just taking the Kerrigan action figure out of the box, you feel the stabs from every which way.  She’s got spines on her arms, legs, waists, and her hair will even take a jab at you if you’re not careful.  She comes separated from her blades, which can be found behind the actual figurine in the box, along with a custom creep mounting plate.

When I think of what color describes Zerg, automatically I think pink, red, and purple.  Let me assure you, there’s plenty of all those colors combined on this action figure.  Starting with her face, she has yellow pupils and a green hue to her skin — very smooth.  Deep purple lips and her dark-brown hair branches out behind her in all sorts of directions.  The hair feels pretty solid for the most part, so long as you’re not pulling on it like it’s removable.

Jumping right down to her chest and arms, you’ll find immaculate detail.  Her chest is curved nicely, and includes a large amount of scales that lead down to her pelvic area.  (Yes, it’s starting to get warm in here.)  Her hands are accompanied by a series of long black claws that look like they could be used to rip the flesh right off your bones.  The legs sport a combination of different spines leading down to her feet.  Also, her arse is rounded perfectly like the backside of an egg. Boom!

The creep mount is definitely a cool addition.  It curves around in sort-of an “S” shape and features some serious spines on the edges of one end.  It’s slightly raised in the middle, giving the overall mount some nice texture and appeal.  Lightweight, sturdy, and overall… great mount.

Alright, so the bottom of her feet have small pegs which are used to snap into the included creep mount.  Pretty simple and self-explanatory installing Kerrigan on the creep.  What’s not so easy is installing her blades.  Upon my first attempts, I actually cracked one of the blades where it pivots in the middle.  Why? Too much pressure. You absolutely must be careful handling these blades and install them gently.  There are two holes on her back underneath her flailing hair that are meant for the blades to install into.  At the end of each blade, you’ll see the small rotating ball that goes into each hole.

There’s no simple way to explain this, so the best advice I can give you here is to be gentle.  Avoid making the same mistake I did, trying to rotate them every which way.  I expected the blades to sit more on each side of her rather than straight behind her back, which is why I applied too much force in the wrong direction.  I’ve included plenty of images so if you’re unsure of the direction, those should be helpful.

Pros:

Detail. Detail. DETAIL! DC hit the nail on the head with this one, without a doubt. Even though I stress that she’s fragile, The Queen of Blades isn’t a bulky, robust character.  Therefore, we shouldn’t expect the action figure to be any different.  My own impulses led me to the blunder I encountered.  I love that she’s in an aggressive stance.  It really brings out her character and her determination for destruction. The mount is plenty detailed, and easy to work with.  My overall favorite aspect in her design: The blades.

Cons:

I would have been much more comfortable with the Kerrigan action figure out of the box if it had been more clear how both blades were supposed to be installed.  A little trial and error goes a long way, but sometimes too far, like in my case.  Other than that, she’s solid and I’m happy with everything else.

Wrap up

The StarCraft 2 Series 2 Action Figures are a fine addition to anyone’s collection of StarCraft accessories.  You can grab these directly from Blizzard or DC Unlimited, but I’d suggest buying both the Kerrigan Action Figure and Tychus Action Figure through Amazon for a better price. Whether or not we can expect a Series 3 Collector’s Set is still up in the air, but surely with the Heart of the Swarm Expansion coming out later this year DC Unlimited will glamour us with new additions.  Check out my hands-on video (above) and some additional images below.  Drop a comment below if you have any questions!